


The Lost City of Mizu

by maddiemj2005



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29119887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiemj2005/pseuds/maddiemj2005
Summary: This is just a retelling of Karl Jacobs twitch stream- Tales of the SMP; The Lost City of Mizu. I changed some parts around to make it a little different but the plot is basically the same. This is my first work so hopefully it’s ok!!!!!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not sure why the description says that the chapters are 1/1??? There’s gonna be a lot more than that, I already have at least 10 chapters planned and that’s only just the beginning. I’m not sure how to change it but anyways on to the story! :)

Karl looks down at his watch, the time reads 7:34. _Perfect timing,_ he thinks. He looks back up into the mirror at himself. His reflection looks back. His brown hair is messy and unbrushed from a day of writing. He is wearing his signature sweatshirt; a purple color with a green spiral and left sleeve. At least he thinks that’s what the colors are. Being partially colorblind, he has never been too sure. He’s wearing black jeans with no holes. He hated the feeling of ripped jeans and could never understand how people would want to wear them. He brushes a hand through his hair, trying to look at least half-decent for his date tonight. Smiling one last time to boost his self-esteem a little, he turns around and starts walking toward the door.

He was extremely tired that night but that couldn’t stop him from going to the bakery. He had been looking forward to meeting SapNap and Quackity all day long. He knew it wasn't going to be the funniest night since they were just going to Niki’s bakery for a snack, but he knew that it would be nice to see his two fiances again. He knew the path to the bakery by heart and simply walked briskly with his head down. After all, he had to walk by the crater left after Dream after he blew L’Manburg sky high. Karl hated looking at it. He hated how it was all just destruction and good memories lost in the dust. After walking alone for a few minutes he heard quiet voices up ahead. Looking up to see who it was he saw two tall figures standing next to each other looking out toward L’Canyon. They hadn’t noticed him yet. Karl stopped walking to listen to what they were saying. He didn’t like eavesdropping but he also didn’t want to have a conversation because he was so tired. _Why am I so tired?_

“-and the hotel is coming along great! Tommy has been a huge help with gathering supplies and being eager to work.”

“That's always good to hear,” Ranboo replied. He was tall, taller than tall, Enderman, human, and some other specimen hybrid. He stood at a height of 7 foot 9 and always seemed to be wearing a suit. A plain but elegant black suit, _It looks good on him though,_ Karl thought. He wore a gold crown and had strangely colored skin. His right half was all black, _maybe not black, but a dark, dark purple,_ and his left was white. His hair was colored the same way, and it seemed to have a mind of its own. It sprang up and shot into many different directions but somehow still looked regal. Karl tuned back into the conversation, trying to pick up on what they were talking about.

“Tommy,” Ranboo continued, “I- I don’t know. I guess I just kinda feel like he’s misunderstood? I mean, yeah he’s done some bad things in the past but I think he’s learning. He’s… he’s definitely doing better.”

“I agree with you,” Awesamedude, or just Sam, replied. Sam was tall as well, not as tall as Ranboo, but closer than anyone else. He stood around 7 foot 2 and always wore a creeper mask. It was believed that he was a creeper hybrid, although he never admitted to it. He has small patches on his skin that had small bits of green in them. He was wearing gold armor and holding his favorite item, an enchanted trident. Karl looked longingly at it, _I’ve always wanted a trident. Being able to fly through the rain or summon lightning in a storm has always just seemed like the magic I was missing from my life…_

Sam continued, “I think I’m gonna go Ranboo. Tommy wanted me to meet him at the hotel and I don’t wanna be late. I also have to check on Dream in the prison.”

“N-no-no, that's, that's ok. You can go. I should probably head inside soon anyway. It looks like it might, maybe rain.”

The two friendly giants looked one last time at one other before parting ways, both walking separate directions down the Prime Path. Kale realized, a little too late, that he would have to move or he would get caught eavesdropping. He quickly moved to hide under the path, since there was a small space between it and the ground. He heard Ranboo stop walking, _He probably saw me._ Karl cursed under his breath as quietly as he could. The distant roll of thunder brought his attention back to the present as he heard Ranboo quickly start walking again, not wanting to get touched by any water.

Karl stayed where he was for a few minutes. He really wanted to make sure he was alone. If anyone saw him come out from under the path there would be some serious questions he didn't have the time to answer. _Speaking of time…_ he thought as he looked at his watch. He tensed in shock as he realized what time it was. He was late. He was showing up late to the date with his fiances. He scrambled out from under the path as quickly as he could, no longer caring if someone saw him. Moments after he was standing on his feet again, he heard the rain. _Great. Now I’m showing up late and I’ll be soaking wet._ Exhaustion forgotten, he started running, hoping to make it to the bakery before it was too late.

He shut the doors behind him just as the rain started to come down. He tried to calm his breathing, he had been running hard to get here in time, but ended up just sounding like a dying goose. He heard quiet snickering and turned around to see SapNap and Quackity trying to not laugh at him. Karl grinned and held his arms open. He got the reaction he wanted almost instantly, as his two fiances rushed toward him and they all fell to the ground in a hug.

“Aw, I missed you guys,” SapNap said quietly through the giggles. SapNap was easily the biggest of the three. He wasn’t that tall, only a little taller than average. He was an experienced arsonist, and although Karl didn’t like violence, he couldn’t reject SapNap’s personality and charisma.

Quackity just laughed and said a long string of happy curses. Quackity was the smallest of the three, standing at around 5 foot 5. He has a very loud attitude and always wanted to make sure that everyone could hear him at all times. Karl didn’t mind the volume, his voice always made him laugh.

Karl just seemed to be the most normal out of the three. He was the average height, didn’t really prefer violence or peace, could be loud or quiet, and could never stop moving or could run around all day long. That's just who he was- average, normal. He wasn’t a hybrid, he didn’t wear anything special like a crown or a cultural outfit, he was just himself. To everyone on the SMP, Karl was just in the middle. The time traveler side of him kept him from ever believing he was anything close to normal, but no one could ever know about that. Not even his fiancés. 

That was the hardest part about the relationship. Every day he felt like he was lying to them. Every day he had to act average. He could never show them the Time Portal. He could never take them into the past or future to go on a fun adventure with him. No one could know about the Portal. People would take advantage of its powers and use them for bad things.

“Ok, ok!” Karl said, pushing Quackity and SapNap off of him, “We didn’t come here to cuddle and I’m starving anyway.”

The three boys laughed before helping each other to their feet. They walked over to the corner of the bakery and sat at the table by the window. Karl looked out at the rain falling down. Every few seconds the world would flash brightly as lightning struck somewhere nearby. He found himself almost being sung to sleep as he listened to the lullaby of the rain. He felt his eyes closing, his mind drifting off to sleep. _Why am I so tired?_ Right before his head would’ve hit the window, he felt a hand gently shake his shoulder.

“Karl?” Quackity asked with a worried gaze, “Are you doin’ ok?”

Karl sat up, taking in the two worried glances he was getting. He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes but it only resulted in making him feel even more tired.

“Hey?” SapNap asked, placing a hand gently on Karl’s cheek, “Do you feel alright?”

“Mmhmmm…” was all Karl could reply. He took a long breath before continuing slowly, “I’m just really... tired... for some reason… I guess?”

“Did you stay up late or somethin’?” Quackity asked, “you seem like you can hardly hold your head up.”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m-I’m fine…” Karl replied, “I… I stayed up a little late… down at the spider XP farm…” _That was a lie. I really don’t know why I’m so tired but I don’t want to worry them any more._

Quackity and SapNap shot worried glances at each other. This wasn’t like Karl. He was usually talking the entire time and super energetic. They both knew that Karl had been super excited for their date for a while now, he talked about it almost every day.

“Here, Karl,” SapNap said softly, still very worried about his fiance's health, “C’mere and I’ll hold you while you sleep.”

Both Quackity and SapNap waited for Karl’s reply, but got a quiet snore instead. They both grinned at each other, before Quackity started to help SapNap adjust Karl so that he could sleep comfortably. After sharing a few more worried glances, they started to talk quietly to themselves, determined to have a date even if one of them was sleeping through it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I just checked back on the story and saw that it was being noticed (only by like 10 of you but still) and I just wanna say- I ALREADY LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL IN YOUR OWN PERFECT WAY AND YOURE DOING AMAZING!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

Karl couldn’t fall asleep. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how tired he was, he just couldn’t actually go to sleep. He laid in SapNap’s arms as he heard him and Quackity talking quietly to each other. After around 2 hours, the two said goodbye and SapNap agreed to carry Karl back home. Karl could barely feel SapNaps arms under him as he was lifted. The only way he knew he was outside was the gentle touch of the rain on his cheeks. It was cold, and it made him shiver.

SapNap felt Karl start shivering, and he tried to hold him a little closer to him. He quickened his pace to try and get Karl home quickly. Walking in the dark was already dangerous because of the possibility of having an encounter with a dangerous mob and SapNap knew he would have no way to fight unless he dropped his fiance. 

_Something is definitely wrong with Karl,_ SapNap thought, _He’s never this tired. Even when he pulls all nighters he’s never this tired._ SapNap was very thankful for the lanterns Tommy had been putting up. Tommy had his own reasons for doing it, something about wanting to find a moth, but everyone was thankful since it kept most of the monsters away.

By the time SapNap had reached Karl’s house, Karl could barely feel the arms under him. He could barely feel the chill of the rain. He was so tired that he was struggling to form complete thoughts, but he still couldn’t sleep. The only way he knew he was home was the sound of a door closing.

SapNap walked over to Karl’s bedroom and very gently sat him down on the bed. He pulled the blankets around Karl. He struggled to not sneeze and the scent of old and new books filled his nose. He smiled at the blankets he was putting around Karl; they were the same colors and style of his sweatshirt. Dark purple mixed with a cactus green. He suddenly had the memory of when Karl got it, it had been his birthday 3 years ago. Captain Puffy had made it by hand and it was one of the nicest blankets that any of the SMP members had ever seen. SapNap looked into his fiance's sleeping face again, before gently kissing the tip of his nose and quietly leaving.

Once Karl was alone, his thoughts got a little clearer again. _Why am I so tired?_ Karl thought. He tried to remember if he had ever felt like this in the past or had heard of someone else with the same problem.

That's when the memories came, clear as broad daylight.

He had felt like this before. Three times to be precise.

And each time it happened, he woke up somewhere else.

Karl knew he would fall asleep and it would feel like a normal nap, but when he woke up he knew that he would’ve walked somewhere else. Walked in his sleep to somewhere that no one else knew about.

The Time Portal.

Karl wasn’t ever sure why he felt so tired before he traveled. He had a theory about the Portal having some sort of effect on him that makes him tired so that he can have a full amount of energy for the trip the next day. Maybe the Portal’s magic was addicting, and this is how Karl would feel if he didn’t use it enough. Karl laid in his bed, trying to theorize why this could be happening, but before he knew it- he was asleep.

Karl opened his eyes and had to squint. _It's so bright out here,_ he thought to himself. After giving his eyes a few moments to adjust to the lighting, he took in his surroundings.

There were spruce trees, some small since they had been planted not too long ago, and some seemed to reach the block limit. He was standing near a small fence. The fence had alternating sections of spruce wood and spruce fences. There were lanterns scattered around the ground to keep the place lit up. The entire scene was covered in a few inches of snow.

It also was snowing at the moment, Karl realized and a snowflake landed on his nose. Despite all the cold weather, Karl felt extremely warm. He looked down and saw him wearing his normal purple and green sweatshirt and black jeans, no holes. _I’m dreaming,_ he quickly realized. He looked around some more, trying to figure out where he was. After only seeing more trees and a long fence from where he stood, he knew he had to start walking somewhere. He placed his right hand on the fence and started walking through the snowy forest.

After only about a minute of walking he was able to see smoke rising through the trees. He quickened his pace, eager to see another person or hybrid and figure out where he was. After running for about a minute he came to the area where the smoke was coming from.

It was a crater.

Not a big crater, but a good sized crater.

It had taken out at least three homes in the small town that Karl was looking at. The smoke wasn't rising from the crater though, it was rising from a large bonfire that someone had made nearby. Around the bonfire stood five people. Karl stopped walking and stood at the treeline. _Maybe I should stay hidden,_ He thought, _stay hidden at least until I can figure out who those people are._

Karl, walking slowly and making sure that he couldn’t be seen, slowly made his way over to the bonfire. He could hear the voices now. It was mainly two men shouting at each other, with a third joining the conversation every once and awhile.

The first person Karl was able to see was who he presumed to be Jack Manifold. He was wearing the usual Snowchester clothes; a dark tan colored wool sweatshirt and a brown vest. He still wore his signature colored glasses and earpiece. Everyone knew that Jack didn’t talk to anyone through it but Jack still wore it all the same. He was one of the men arguing loudly.

Karl turned his attention to the man Jack was yelling at. This person was tall, not tall like a hybrid, but tall for a human. He had dirty blond hair that fell to about shoulder length. His bright blue eyes were wide and furious as he yelled back at Jack. He was wearing clothes that were in the style of Snowchesters usual wear, but they had been dyed to match his signature clothing. The shirt was dyed red while the vest was white, and his pants were a much lighter khaki color. _Why is Tommy here? He’s not a citizen of Snowchester._

The third person Karl looked at was the person standing defensively on Tommy’s right. It was Tubbo. Tubbo wasn’t as tall as Tommy, even though he was the older of the two. He was in the same outfit as Jack, wearing the Snowchester attire. He had tear stains on his cheeks, and was staring Jack down like he was going to kill him. _I’ve never seen Tubbo_ that _mad._

The fourth person Karl saw was Foolish, one of the newer members of the server. He was a shark, totem, and human hybrid. He was also wearing the Snowchester attire and he stood on Tommy and Tubbo’s side. He didn’t seem mad, he just looked confused and a bit dazed.

The last person standing around the fire was Niki. Except she wasn't standing. Jack was practically holding her upright. She looked like she was in a really bad shape, most of her clothes were burnt or shredded. She was also definitely injured from something. _Maybe it's from whatever caused that crater._ Either way, she was on Jack’s side, and that meant that Tubbo, Tommy, and possibly Foolish were against her as well.

By the time Karl was close enough to make out what they were saying the arguing was almost over. He ended up hearing bits and pieces of Jack and Tommy yelling at each other. Something about Jack wanting Tommy dead for years and how he didn’t mean to use a nuclear prototype and Tommy saying that he should’ve killed Jack years ago. Finally, Tubbo moved forward and put himself between Jack and Tommy.

“- I could’ve done something so much worse Tommy, be thankful that I just don’t kill you right-”

“Just stop it! Ok?” Tubbo loudly yelled at Jack,”I’m the leader of Snowchester, not you. You're a citizen. I was a leader of an old nation before.” His voice pitched slightly as he continued, “I know what happens when your citizens stop respecting you and start doing things on their own accord. It never goes well Jack. Never! So I’ve already made up my mind with what I’m going to do with you.”

“Oh yeah?” Jack asked back, anger flowing out from him, “And what's that?”

“Jack Manifold,” Tubbo began, “You have committed crimes against Snowchester. You used the nuclear weapons for evil, you blew up part of the community, you attempted murder against another citizen, _and_ you killed an innocent bystander in the crossfire.”

“But technically I didn’t blow anything up, that was all Niki,” Jack states quickly, obviously on the defensive side now. Karl noticed how he seemed more nervous now and not as angry.

“I don’t care!” Tubbo yelled, “You were the one that paid her to do it! So yes, maybe she will be punished- after she recovers. But you, you were the captain. You started this. You paid her.”

Jack just looked at Tubbo, silently. A few moments passed before Tubbo took another breath in and continued the argument.

“Jack Manifold,” Tubbo began again, breaking the silence, “I’ve done this to someone before and it ended up doing more bad than good. But Jack, I know I won't regret it this time.  
Jack Manifold, you are hereby…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “Exiled from Snowchester. Please grab your remaining things from your now blown up house and leave.”

Karl stopped breathing. _What had happened here?_ He turned to leave, feeling like he was intruding on something he wasn't meant to see. He walked through the woods for a little bit, leaving behind the ungy crater and the harsh words. He tripped over something but landed softly on the ground. Karl made a quiet hiss of pain and he rubbed his ankle that he had twisted. He looked at the object he had tripped over. It was a stone with words. He brushed the snow off of the stone so he could read the lettering.

Here Lies Squeeks, the Best Fox a Boy Could Ask For  
~killed in a creeper explosion~

Karl knew Squeeks. He was Tubbo’s pet fox. He had been killed in a creeper explosion not too long ago. Karls gaze then moved to the lump of stone to the left of Squeek’s grave. He had to brush off the snow to see the lettering again.

Here Lies Mr. Buttons, the Bravest Snowgolem to Guard the Factory  
~killed by a zombie attack~

Karl didn't react much to that name. He wasn't sure who Mr. Buttons was and he didn’t know whether he should care or not. He moved to the third grave, brushing the snow away gently with his hand again and reading the lettering.

Here Lies Captain Puffy, the Sweetest Soul to Ever Walk the SMP  
~killed by Niki when detonating a small bomb~

Karl widened his eyes in shock. _No-no-nononononono,_ his mind raced. _She can’t be dead, she can’t be…_ Panic filled all of his thoughts. He was a close friend of Puffy, and she had always been there for him. He had so many memories with her, and now she was gone. Before he was able to tear his eyes away from the grave, the world was quickly engulfed in darkness again. _Right,_ Karl thought, breathing a quick sigh of relief, _I’m dreaming._

The next time Karl was able to see the world, he was sitting in a small boat in the ocean. Jack was in another boat near him. They were alone.

“Hi Karl,” Jack said.

Karl was caught off guard, he wasn’t sure what he should say to Jack after the last dream, “Umm… Hi?”

Jack looked around at the ocean and kept glancing underneath them. Karl looked down to see what he could possibly be looking at before he saw… nothing? It was just an ocean. There were a few fish scattered around. The water was pretty deep, but it was just an ocean.

“What are we doing here?” Karl asked quietly.

“Starting anew,” Jack replied with a smile, “I’m going to build an underwater city.”

Karl looked down into the water again. He saw how the place that Jack had picked could be a good spot. The ocean floor was mostly flat and there wasn't too much vegetation that would get in the way of building. The water was deep too, so the city could be pretty large.

“What are you planning on calling it?” Karl asked quietly.

“I want it to be named after me. Something like the Underwater City of Manifold.”

Karl had to hide a laugh at the name. It was very cringy but he didn’t want to say so out loud. He took a breath in and opened his mouth to ask another question when the world went black again.

This time when he opened his eyes, he knew exactly where he was, and he knew he wasn't dreaming anymore.

The Portal stood in front of him. It's swirling colors of purple and green were mesmerizing. It gave off some light, not enough so you could walk straight without tripping on something, but bright enough to keep mobs away. It made a soft twinkling sound, unlike the Nether Portals. Those portals made ugly, deep, gasping sounds. The Time Portal seemed to give off sounds like a quiet bell chime. Sweet little noises that formed a slow mellody. It had white sparks that would come from out of the Portal, a parallel of the purple dust that floated around Nether Portals. The sparks were harmless, but they left a small silver spot on your skin if you touched them.

Karl knew that he shouldn’t enter the Portal right away. He had some things he needed to prepare before he went through. He turned away from the Portal and started walking through the small tunnel that led to it. When he reached the end of the tunnel, a small ladder stretched toward the ceiling, leading to a secret door. Karl climbed up and opened the door from the outside. He stepped into a room; his book room. The walls were covered in books. The books weren’t on shelves, but were on display. For each book, there was a blank piece of paper to go with it. Karl looked to the corner of the room, and saw three of the finished books. Each of them had a picture that he had drawn to go with it. Each book was a time that he had traveled to. He looked at the next book, still blank. He picked it up carefully, grabbed the piece of paper to draw on, and a pencil to draw with before heading back into the tunnel. He placed the three items on the floor next to the portal. He would need to draw and write in them as soon as he got back. He headed back into the secret room full of books again to grab his traveling gear. The gear was nothing special, it was just a plain, tan colored backpack. At the moment; it was empty. He knew from experience that once he stepped through the portal it would give him the things he needed to survive. Usually that included the casual wear of that time, so he could fit in with the crowds better, a little bit of money or something to trade with in case of emergencies, some food to last a few days, and tools and armor if he would need them. Sometimes he would also be given a small book that would give him a hint on where to go- just to make sure that he was in the right place at the right time. Karl wasn’t sure how the items got in the bag or how the Portal had gotten here. All he knew was that he would sleep walk here when the Portal wanted him to use it and that his first time here, there had been a dead body. The last time traveler. That's where he had gotten the bag and his watch from. His watch was a normal watch in the present day. It just told the time. Whenever he time traveled, the watch would be his ticket home. It would open a portal around him and pull him and only him home when the adventure was over. He would end up on the floor outside of the Portal. He would have whatever he was wearing before he entered the Portal on, and the tan bag would be empty again.

Karl sighed, even though he wasn’t tired anymore, he was still extremely nervous. There was no way to guess where he could be put, and he would have to learn where he was and who he was supposed to be on his own. He had the responsibility of keeping his identity a secret, and above everything else, letting no one know about the time traveling.

He looked down at his shoes for a few seconds before lifting his gaze again. The Portal stood in front of him, waiting for him to enter. He took one last breath in… and stepped through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify and/or summarize- in the first dream, Karl basically is seeing an alternate reality (sneak-peeks of the future). In this reality, Tommy and Captain Puffy are living in Snowchester with Tubbo. Jack paid Niki to try and kill Tommy again. Niki ended up using one of the smaller bombs that Snowchester had to blow up Tommy’s house. Tommy wasn’t harmed (he wasn’t in his house during the explosion) but Puffy was nearby and ended up being killed. The explosion was also bigger than what Niki was planning for so that’s why she’s hurt. Tubbo ended up exiling Jack from Snowchester. (Start of second dream) Jack leaves Snowchester determined to start another city/government/town/etc (idk what to call it lol) and he talks about building ‘The Underwater City of Manifold’, which was later renamed to the City of Mizu. Hope that clarified anything if you were confused :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to meet Charles/Benjamin/Cletus today!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this work, Charles (who was played by Ranboo) is a descendant of TommyInnit. He doesn’t always enjoy starting arguments but he’s always the one to finish them, and he almost always wins. He is extremely good at arguing with traders to get the best deal and the other two boys on the island (Cletus and Benjamin) always let him talk to the traders when they come around. Charles doesn’t go out fishing much because he is usually busy keeping track of the supplies at the island and doing chores while Ben and Cletus farm/fish. He is the oldest out of the three. 
> 
> Cletus (who was played by Quackity) is a descendant of Foolish_Gamers. Out of the three, he is by far the best fisher. No one knows why he’s so good at fishing, but I’ll tell you it’s cus of his ancestors (Foolish was a _shark_ and totem hybrid). He’s full of energy and loves talking, maybe a little too much. 
> 
> Benjamin (who was played by BadBoyHalo) is a descendant of Tubbo. He runs the small farm (potatoes of course) that the boys have on Chester Island. He occasionally goes fishing with Cletus but doesn’t like being out on the water for too long because he gets sea sickness easily. He also doesn’t like being separated from Charles, who he sees as the older brother he never had. He is the youngest out of the three.

Charles sat up from his wooden cot and rubbed his eyes slowly. The sun shone into the room through a hole in the roof. Charles slowly looked around to see his sleeping friends. Benjamin was sleeping silently as he usually did. His dark green eyes were closed and he wore his usual dark brown attire. He didn’t like wearing nicer clothes since he worked all day on the small potato and wheat farm they had. He got dirty very easily and enjoyed simply sitting out on the beach and watching the waves. He was surprised Ben wasn’t awake. Usually Ben would be working on the farm by this time so he could have the afternoon to relax. Charles’ gaze moved over to Cletus. Cletus had a loud personality and would go out every evening to go fishing in the ocean. He was the best fisher any of them had ever known, and would always bring home more than enough. Although Cletus was loud and extremely extroverted, neither Charles nor Ben knew what he looked like. He wore green goggles to cover his eyes and had a dark grey shawl around his neck and mouth. He was short but had a strong build. Charles took one look back at Ben before getting to his feet and walking outside.

Charles was the most rational out of the three. He didn’t always enjoy starting arguments but he was always the one that won them. Charles was always the one that would talk to the merchants when they came around, he knew how to get a good deal so that the three lone survivors could survive until the next visit. No one knew why the three of them didn’t leave the abandoned island. Charles knew that if they left, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the cities of the SMP. They had no money and had no clue how the city worked. On their island, they had each other to survive. Ben tended to the farms and got them clean water. Cletus would go out fishing and bring them back meat to sell or to eat. Charles would keep everything in line and make sure that they had all the supplies they would need.

Charles walked over to the edge of the sand. He looked out at the water, waiting for the sun to rise. He could see storm clouds in the distance, _That’s never good_ , he thought to himself. The merchant ship was supposed to come by tonight or at the latest, tomorrow, and the storm could delay or even cancel that trip. If the merchant came late, the islanders would probably be ok but would need to do a large restocking of supplies. If the trip was canceled… Charles didn’t want to think of the possibility. They would need a new filter for Ben’s water filter, and without a new one- they would have no water to drink. _We_ need _that filter within the next week if we plan to survive this month_. They also needed wood, for tools and to repair the house they lived in. There were no trees on the island and no merchants ever sold saplings. Winter was also coming and although the winters were never hard, they wouldn’t be able to grow any food. All of their food would come from Cletus and Cletus needed to repair his ship. His small rowboat could only carry so much and the harsh waters of the winter would make fishing ten times more dangerous.

Charles noticed that the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. He looked down at his reflection in the water. His light brown hair and green eyes looked back at him. He had his goggles sitting on top of his head- he used them to scan the horizon for incoming merchant ships or just to see the weather. His tan shirt and brown vest were starting to get a little small on him. He clenched his fists and fiddled with the fingerless gloves that they were in. Worry lined his brow as he prayed that the ship might come early and they could trade today. Charles heard the sound of a door opening and he turned around to see Ben watching him sleepily from their house’s open doorway. 

“Good morning Ben,” Charles said looking at his kind and gentle friend.

“Mhmpf,” Ben mumbled in reply, slowly rubbing his eyes as he walked over to Charles.

“How late did you stay up last night?”

Ben sighed before continuing, “Later than I thought I would. I wanted to finish preparing the potatoes for trading. Speaking of trading, when are the merchants coming?”

Charles looked back out toward the horizon as he put his arm around Ben’s shoulders. Ben was the youngest of the three, and all of them were very protective towards him.

“I’m not sure,” Charles replied slowly, “There's a storm coming so I’m not sure if they will even be coming.”

Ben seemed to be awake now. Charles knew that Ben knew that they _needed_ those merchants to come.

“Surely they’ll come. Surely a storm won't deter them,” Ben said quietly, trying to be optimistic. Charles never knew how he was always able to look on the bright side of life, but he was always thankful for him.

“It’s not a regular storm Ben,” Charles said sadly, “It’s going to be bad. Cletus probably won't be able to go out fishing for a day or two.”

Ben looked at Charles with tired eyes. They had been living on this island alone for a few years. He turned his head around and looked at all the abandoned buildings. He thought about what his father had told him before he passed away. His father had been one of the people who worked in the weapons factory, and he told Ben that the latest weapon they had designed had failed. The weapon had blown up, not causing too much of an explosion but starting a large fire that killed a few people and burning nearly all of the trees on the island and releasing a large amount of nuclear radiation into the air. The radiation had affected everyone but three young boys on the island. All of the 46 other citizens of the then called Snowchester died. The three boys weren’t sure how they were immune, but they soon found themselves alone.

The radiation had drastic effects on the environment. The first thing that they noticed was how it stopped snowing. Charles also discovered that the temperature was quickly decreasing. Within the first month of the accident, all of the snow had melted. Cletus came up with the idea of just calling the burned community Chester, since there was no snow anymore. After another month, all of the ice had melted too. Many of the homes were built on the ice and now sat at the bottom of the beach. The island was very small, they had realized, only having enough room for two houses and a small farm.

None of them had ever actually been to the SMP, and none of them knew how to get there. When they were all very very young, the soulsand bridge had collapsed in a storm, and all the citizens of Snowchester just used a boat to travel to the SMP. That was another reason they couldn’t leave. All of them wanted to leave. They wanted to leave the dead community and bad memories behind them. They just never got the chance. They couldn’t pay for a merchant ship to take them to the nearest port either.

Ben sighed again before turning his attention to the sunrise. He shifted Charles’ arm so that the two of them would be more comfortable. They sat in silence, a comfortable silence. Cletus was the one who did the most talking in their group, and he was easily the loudest.

Ben heard him waking up before he even heard the door slam shut.

“Good morning!” Cletus yelled, looking full to the brim with energy.

Charles smiled. Even though he wasn’t sure if they were going to survive the next month, something about Cletus just never allowed anyone to be sad around him. His entire aura was happiness and laughter. Ben laughed quietly, a sweet little noise. Both of them stood up and Cletus walked towards them.

“Watchin’ the sunrise are we?” Cletus asked.

“Yeah,” Charles replied with a smile, “You’re up pretty early.”

“Eh… I wanted to sleep in more but figured that I would help get whatever you want ready for trading and maybe head out later to go-”

“Cletus,” Charles cut him off, “I’m not letting you go fishing later.”

“What?” Cletus replied, surprise and sadness in his voice, “Why? Why not? What’s going on?”

Charles looked down at Ben. Ben had turned around again to watch the last of the sunrise. He was probably caught up in his own thoughts and not paying much attention to the other boys talking.

“There’s… a storm coming,” Charles carefully explained. He didn’t want to make Cletus mad. No one did. Mad Cletus was scary. When he got mad he did whatever he wanted and someone usually ended up being hurt or injured in the end, “It looks like it’ll be pretty bad. I don’t want you going out in case your ship wrecks.”

Cletus looked at him, carefully planning his next words. He knew that the chances of him winning an argument against Charles was low, but the chances were still there.

“When is the storm supposed to come?” Cletus asked.

“Probably around noon at the latest, and I want everyone in the house by that point. So my answer is probably around ten o-clock,” Charles replied, watching Cletus carefully.

“What if I went out in the morning?” Cletus knew that Charles would most definitely say no, since he knew that storms could be unpredictable and the storm could start in the next hour if it wanted to.

Charles didn’t reply. He watched Cletus as he thought. _That storm could be here within an hour. But, our food supply is getting really low, and the storm will destroy Ben’s potatoes and wheat._

Charles sighed, “Cletus I need you to promise me something.”

Cletus looked at him. He was a little confused but that response gave him some hope, “Yeah?”

Charles looked him seriously in the eyes, “Be back in an hour. Tops.”

Cletus felt his chest swell with happiness, “Of course! Of course! I’ll leave now and be back within an hour, tops!”

He quickly turned around and ran to where his small fishing boat was docked. Today would probably be one of it's last trips, since the storm will either leave it extremely damaged or completely broken. _We really need that merchant ship to come._

Charles watched as Cletus ran away, smiling.

“You actually let him go?” Ben asked quietly, “Even I know that the storm could come within an hour.”  
Charles looked down at Ben, “I know too, but if we want to eat dinner tonight he needs to go out today. I hate to say it but your crops probably aren’t going to make it through this storm.”  
Ben looked up at Charles, “Maybe when we save enough I’ll be able to trade for enough materials to build a little shack to store the harvests. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about storms ruining them.”

Charles turned back around to look across the water. The sun had risen by now and the day was already starting to warm up. It was always warm, too warm, on the island, just another reason Charles wanted to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again readers!!! Sorry if this chapter took so long, I was struggling to find motivation. Hopefully the chapter is ok- I apologize if the dialog seems weird, I do not swear at all (the worst I’ll say is gosh/dang/shoot/heck) so the dialog for some characters might be off. I will try to get the forth chapter out by tomorrow (as long as school treats me nicely) and I hope to see you there!!! I love each and every one of you!!! Thank you for reading!!! <3 <3 <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karl is in the future!!!!

Karl tumbled onto the hard ground, hearing a quiet buzz as the portal closed behind him. He looked up and around, trying to take in his surroundings. He was surrounded. Tall, grey, concrete walls stretched high above him. He was standing on concrete too, except it was a little wet from who-knows-what. He didn’t want to know. He turned around him and saw that there was a way out of the concrete walls. A narrow path leading out onto what Karl presumed to be a path. Every few seconds he would see someone walk by. _There’s a lot of people here, not the best place for the Portal to dump me. Could’ve been worse I guess._ He knelt down and pulled the tan backpack from his shoulders to look inside. The first thing he found was what he presumed to be today’s casual wear. He took them out and got a closer look at what he was going to be wearing for the rest of the time he was here. It was a simple blue shirt- short sleeves, a vest of a darker blue, black pants, and a strange gold arm piece and eyeglass. He quickly looked back at the opening of the ally behind him to make sure that he was alone before he quickly stripped down and changed into his new clothes. They fit perfectly, as they always did. The arm piece and the eyeglass felt strange but he was willing to do almost anything to help him get the least amount of attention as possible. Once in his new clothes he looked back in the bag to see if there was anything else. He found some gold ingots, _probably the currency that they use here,_ and a compass. At that moment, the compass’ needle was spinning aimlessly. On the bottom of the bag, there was a small piece of paper. Curious, Karl pulled it out and squinted to read it in the dim light.

~Future Profile~

Name; Isaac Jacobs

Age; 19

Home; Prime 4th Street

Past job; Served as one of Skeppy’s Vault Guards (quit four months ago)

Reason for quitting; Not enough people to be friends with

Skeppy’s Port; Awesome Merchant Trading Ships; Pandora

Karl read over the paper again. _Strange,_ he thought, _it's giving me information, probably for my fake identity._ He pocketed the letter before pulling it out again. He read the last line. He read it again. _What in the world does that mean?_

Karl shrugged. He had time traveled twice before. He could figure it out on his own. He shoved his old clothes and the paper back into the backpack and started to walk out of the alleyway. Once he found himself on the road he tried to take in his surroundings again.

He was surrounded by buildings. Some were short, some were wide, some were tall. They were made of many different materials. There were a few people scattered around, walking on an oak wood pathway. _The Prime Path,_ Karl realized. He tried to look around all of the buildings to see if he could guess where he was. After a few minutes of looking and crossing places off he determined that he was outside of what used to be Tommy’s house. Karl knew that he wasn’t in the past. There were too many people and there were so many buildings. _I’m in the future._ The thought hit him like a punch to the stomach. _I’ve always gone to the past._

Karl also knew that he should probably get started on whatever adventure the Portal had planned for him, but at the same time, _I’m in the future!_ Karl smiled, and took off running down the Prime Path. He turned left, wanting to see what L’Canyon looked like. Once he reached the end of the pathway, he looked out and saw lots of construction. _They’re refilling the hole._ The work seemed to be slow but Karl could see that they had made a lot of progress. About half the hole was filled with cobblestone and other various materials. He turned around again, running to the place he wanted to see next. He stopped running once he reached the place where Tommy and Sam had been busy building the Big Innit Hotel. And there it was, in all of it's finished glory. The hotel was huge to say the least. It looked just how Tommy had wanted it to. _Sam did a good job_ , Karl thought. The place seemed to be very well kept and had a good business. Karl thought again, wondering where else he should go. He had numerous other places in mind but decided to visit only one of them since people were giving him weird glances, wondering why someone was running around on the streets looking very, very excited. _The prison,_ Karl thought. _I’ll visit the prison and then I’ll start the adventure._

Karl, after again realizing he was getting stared at, slowed his excited run to a brisk walk. The road to the prison wasn't long, but the time seemed to drag on. Finally, as Karl rounded a corner, the prison came into view.

Or, it should’ve come into view.

The prison was gone.

Karl stood where he was, looking out across the water. _Where is it? Sam spent so much time building it. You can’t just get rid of an inescapable prison._

He slowly tore his eyes away from the lack of a prison, and started to walk along the Path again, not wanting to be caught strangely staring at the empty space. As he walked, he tried to get his thoughts back together.

_Why am I in the future? **To learn about something, why else.** But what if I don't know how to stop whatever might be coming? **Who said the future was bad?**_

It seemed like there were two voices in his head, arguing with each other.

_Maybe you should just go with the flow and see where it takes you. **No. Follow the compass.** But the compass doesn't point to anywhere. **Are you sure?**_

At the last three words of his thoughts, Karl stopped. He walked off of the path and opened his backpack again. He wasn't sure why he stopped, it was only a thought that even brought up the idea of checking the compass. Slowly, pulling the compass out like it was a live and dangerous animal, he looked at it. The needle spun aimlessly, just as it had before.

_See? I told you it wasn't working. **Are you sure?** Positive, I’m looking at it right now. **Look at it again.** Again?- _

Karl snapped his attention back into the present. He looked down at the compass in his hands.

It stopped.

The needle had stopped.

It was pointing.

The compass was working.

What.

The.

Honk.

He had to remind himself to breathe. There was no way he could’ve just known that it started working. He took a deep breath before putting his backpack back on and getting back on his feet. He looked down at the compass one more time to make sure he wasn't imagining something.

Nope. The compass was definitely working now.

He turned so that he was facing the direction the compass was pointing. It pointed straight down the Prime Path. Karl counted to 10 in his head to try and calm himself. It worked, a little. He focused on putting one foot in front of the other and eventually fell into a rhythm. As he walked down the Path, he realized where it was pointing.

_Skeppy and Bad’s mansion. Why would I go there?_

_**Follow the compass. You’ve wasted enough time by running around and enjoying the scenery.** _

“Ok, ok, calm down,” Karl mumbled under his breath. He was having really loud intrusive thoughts.

By this point, he had come to the place where the Prime Path usually split into two different bridges that wrapped around the mansion. In this time, the Path kept going straight. Straight into a tunnel that went under the mansion. _That’s pretty cool._

_**See? The future isn't all bad.** _

Karl continued walking, choosing to ignore the intrusive thoughts again. He walked through the tunnel and came out on the other side. The first thing he saw was a large gate, made out of blackstone and diamond blocks. Beyond the gate was a large port, with tons of large ships full of different things. _Why did the compass lead me here?_

He looked down at the compass in his hand. It took him a second to realize that the needle was no longer pointing in a direction. It was back to spinning aimlessly. Karl looked back up at the large gate, _This must be the place that it was leading me to._ As he looked at the gate some more, he realized that there was a small sign on the edge. He walked over, trying to not cause any attention to himself. He read the sign quickly, it was easy since there were only two words;

Skeppy’s Port

It sounded familiar. Of course, Karl knew Skeppy. The strange, diamond hybrid who always enjoyed pulling pranks on everyone. He was also pretty rich and a pretty good friend of BadBoyHalo. _Maybe not just a friend,_ Karl thought with a smirk. He read the sign again, still wondering why it looked familiar, knowing it wasn’t just because he was friends with the guy.

_**The paper.** _

Karl jumped, startled. He turned around, looking for where the voice could’ve come from. There were a few people walking around nearby, but no one was paying any attention to him. He looked back at the sign with a confused expression. _Who was that?_

_**The paper.** _

Karl was startled again, not near as bad as last time though. He looked around him again. The only person who was paying attention to him was an old man with greying hair, but he seemed to be trying to figure out why Karl kept spinning in circles. He played the voice over again in his head. _It sounds like… me?_ Karl thought, _But deeper? No, maybe higher pitched? I don’t know. It sounds like me, but just… different?_

_**The paper.** _

_Ok, ok, calm down._ Karl took his backpack off again and began searching through it. Eventually after a minute of digging around his old clothes he was able to find ‘the paper’. It was a bit crinkled now from being crushed, but every word was still perfectly legible. He read it slowly, trying to figure out why the intrusive thoughts wanted him to read it again. _I’ve already read it like, a dozen times. What else could possibly be on here that I’m missing?_

As he read over each section, his thoughts slowly started to distract him. He thought of memories from the present day SMP, and how this future SMP was so different. _It’s really grown a lot since the present._

He thought of his friends, of his fiances. He thought about the secrets he had to hide every waking day in his life. Karl’s mind eventually drifted back to the paper he was still holding in his hands. He was reading the final line, _Skeppy’s Port; Awesome Merchant Trading Sh-_

Karl froze. He looked back up at the small sign in front of him. He looked back down at the paper. _Skeppy’s Port,_ Karl thought. _**Skeppy’s Port,**_ the intrusive thoughts echoed. He shook his head, again trying to get the strange but familiar voice out of his brain. _The compass led me here and the paper has the place’s name on it._ Karl stood still for a few more moments. _The compass and the paper were given to me when I traveled here._ He looked at the large gate, the entrance to the port. He took one last longingful glance behind him. _I guess there's only one way to go._

Karl took a deep breath before looking down once more. He read the last line of the paper. _Skeppy’s Port; Awesome Merchant Trading Ships; Pandora._ He tucked the compass back into the backpack, still curious about how it had not worked, started working, and stopped working again in a matter of minutes. He closed the backpack and put it back on his shoulders, keeping the piece of paper in his hand. He took a deep breath before taking his first steps toward the gate, and entering the so-called Skeppy’s Port.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello reader!!! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I’ll be trying to upload around every 2-3 days. I already have 4 chapters written so the first few updates should come pretty quickly. Anyways, I’ll see you in the next one!!!!


End file.
